I Love You, Pennsylvania!

Words can't describe how happy I am to be here in P.A. with Ava. (Just for fun-the reasons are listed a little bit below!) The cherry on top would, of course, be having Curt here with us but thankfully we will see him in just a few short days. It's so great to be "home" with my fabulous family and wonderful friends. I just feel so great when I'm here...I love it. The sweet, familiar smell of my house is one of the best things in the ENTIRE world. For those of you that don't know, Curt and I LOVE surprises. So, in true Dougherty fashion we decided to surprise (most of) my family with my early arrival back home. They all were expecting the three of us to be here next week but Ava and I had some other plans. My Mom was a key player in making sure this all went smoothly and she made sure to have our entire family and some close friends here on Saturday for dinner and what they were thinking was a scheduled ichat session with Curt, Ava and I in England. Curt's sister, Angela, picked us up from the airport and brought us back to the house. My Mom had already gotten Curt on the computer (he is still in the UK for work) and they all thought I was downstairs finishing up a feeding with the baby. Well, much to their surprise I came waltzing in the front door with Ava in tow. As you could imagine there were loads of screams, tears, hugs, and kisses. It was WONDERFUL! Like I said, Curt and I LOVE LOVE LOVE surprises!!!

Top 10 Reasons I Love Pennsylvania:
1. Most importantly, my family and friends are at my fingertips.
2. We have the luxury of 4 separate seasons. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall.
3. There is a WaWa on every corner. (Don't know what that is? Look it up...)
4. I grew up in the suburbs outside of Philly, and I can go to the beach for the day in the summer or skiing for a day in the winter, and still be home for dinner.
5. I still, at age 27 (almost 28!), love to go out in West Chester with my friends and sisters. It's a GREAT town...
6. It only takes about 30 minutes to get to King of Prussia. (Again, you might need to look it up!)
7. Curt and I met in high school and I get a wave of nostalgia every time I drive past our old stomping grounds, which is only about 5 minutes from my parent's house.
8. We can still spend many a days tailgating in Camden or Philly right before a concert (Kenny Chesney this summer!!!) or an Eagles/Phillies Game. (Which we plan on doing TONS of in the next year...)
9. Just the overall feeling of pride and completion I get as soon as the plane I'm on lands safely at Philly International Airport. I always breathe a sigh of relief knowing that I'm HOME.
10. Just knowing that when Curt and I "set this circus down", it will be here. It will be where Ava (and some future siblings, I hope!) will be able to go see her grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and friends whenever she wants. That's how I grew up and I can't imagine a life without my family in it on a daily basis. I LOVE PHILADELPHIA!!!!!!

OKAY-Back to the news!
Since we arrived, Ava has been slowly working on getting her sleep schedule back to normal and I must say, it's been kinda rocky. She's sleeping in a new room, new crib, new house! She's been getting better with each day. Thankfully everything she learned from our sleep training has carried over (YAY!!!) and putting her to bed and down for naps has been easy. She's just been a bit fussy in the evenings because she is up so late past her normal UK bedtime. Each day is getting a bit easier but I think it might take about a week for her to fully adjust.

We have been spending lots of time catching up with some family and friends these past few days and Ava has really been laying it on thick. She's loving all this attention and there is no end in sight. Everyone loves to hold her and she's been all about these new faces! (Don't worry-she still loves her Mommy and Daddy the best!)

My sister and I did some serious shopping yesterday and it felt so great to actually be INSIDE of a store on not online. We all know I love to shop and with my partner in crime we had a great time. More of that will continue today... Curt is already regretting the words "Have fun shopping!". :-)

I will leave you with some pictures of my first night back home. Ava is obsessed with her cousin A.J. and if she could she would climb all over him. When we get them next to each other she reaches out with all she has to try and get hold of him. He's not quite sure what to do with her and sometimes his best defense is to just plain old ignore her! Haha, it's a riot. Ava has been "talking" up a storm and as soon as she gets to rambling his sweet little eyes bug out of his head as he is startled by the crazy noises that are coming out of her mouth at record volumes! The other day we had them lying next to each other and in about a minutes time she managed to bop him in the face with her foot, rip out his pacifier, and grab his face. NICE! As Curt and I always say, "She's so bossy!"

I will try to be real good about keeping my blog updated but with so much more to do here, it will be kinda tricky! :-)

PS: Did I mention how HAPPY I am to be in Pennsylvania???

This is Ava meeting A.J. for the first time. She literally wanted to be on top of him. He wasn't sure what to do with her attention so watched the T.V. instead.


She's thinking, "Please! Come closer! I'm a nice girl!"


The Grandparents and their first grandbabies!


The Grandpop's:


The Grandmom's:


Happy Cousins! (Although you wouldn't think so with the look on their faces-so cute!)


Ava meeting her Aunt Mariel for the first time!


Olivia taking her turn with Ava! (A family friend...)


OH-and I promise to make a stronger effort to be in some of these pictures in the future. Not sure why I'm so bad at that...but it'll change!